Overcoming the Beast
by GeminiHazelPixie
Summary: Sophie Lahote has returned to her home on the Reservation, in Washington, after phasing for the first time. Her mother ships her off to her home town from sunny LA, where she denies all links to the pack and her true self. Can she overcome the beast she believes she is, or will she forever be controlled by the wolf inside her.
1. Overcoming the Move

SOPHIE'S POV

My mother had finally declared she didn't really want me living with her, since she was now with her 'husband' of three days. She didn't say it outright, of course. She put it in more delicate way. She sat me down in the living room. "Honey… Neal and I have decided it would be best for everyone if you moved to your dad's in Forks."

I stared at her in shock. "But mom! I've got friends! A life!" I defied.

She sighed. "This is not a discussion. Your father and I have already agreed you'll be going to the Reservation in Forks. You, your father, and your brother."

I let out a growl of aggravation. I wasn't even in their way at home. I was out or in my room. I practically lived alone anyway. Why did she have to ship me off? But of course, I knew the answer: Because of the _incident_ in the woods.

"You treat me like a child! I'm seventeen!" I yelled.

She stood and looked me dead in the eye, seeing me getting angry. But this time, unlike the others, she wasn't afraid of me. "Then start acting like it!" She retorted.

I was shocked. She had never been so blunt with me. I felt like I was about to burst from my skin. But immediately calmed myself. I knew what could happen if I got too mad. It had already happened once. I refused to phase again. I guessed this was why she refused to live with me now. Because I was a wolf.

Three days later, I finished packing my personal items, before packing a bag as carry on luggage. I braided my dark curls down my shoulder, reaching my waist. My mother knocked on the door, but I ignored her presence. "You know I am only doing this to help you."

I rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't have told you if you were going to send me away. It's not like it's gonna happen again." I stated, confidently. "I haven't phased since that day."

She sighed and came and sat on the bed. "I know, Soph. But it's not like I can take that chance. Not with Neal in the house."

I rolled my eyes. "I am not a wolf." I then turned to her. "And you are not human either."

She sighed. "Yes, I know. But your father and I never imprinted on each other. Then I met Neal. I want to start a life with him."

I growled. "I am not part of this freaky gene-pool. I refuse to believe I am doomed to a life as a wolf with someone who I didn't even choose."

My mother rolled her eyes mockingly, and then looked at me with doubt. "You can't change who you are."

I finally faced her. "Watch me."

I hopped on the plane, not even looking back at my mother or Neal, and sat in my seat frowning at the back of the seat in front of me. How could she be so… unreasonable? So selfish? I refused to believe I was completely doomed to being controlled by my anger. I felt the rumbling of the engine as the plane began to take off. Taking a look out the window, I took one last look at my old home. I knew I would probably never see it again. I was afraid. Afraid that I would lose control. Hurt someone. Even kill. The thought of it made me shudder. But I had to control it. I wanted a life. And I would do what I could to get it.

The plane landed in Seattle, and I walked off the death trap with a sigh. I knew that either my dad, or Paul, or both, would be waiting for me. I braced myself for the onslaught and walked through the doors into the airport. There was a huge group of people waiting for me, lead by my brother. _Brilliant. _I slowly walked over, looking at each of the eleven faces. I only recognised three, which was bad on my part.

Leah Clearwater was smirking at me, causing me to smirk back at her. She knew me well without being around. Same with me knowing her. I guess she liked the fact that the pack had another female - Not that I was getting involved with it.

Sam Uley, who I had met due to me shifting. He had come to LA to brief me. I made it clear I wasn't shifting again. Nor was I joining the pack. He just responded by saying I was a part of it whether I was a shifter or not.

And of course, my brother, Paul Lahote. He was slightly grinning at me. I couldn't tell if he was happy to see me or about to kill me there and then.

All eleven of them held up a big sign saying '_Welcome Home Sophie' , _which made me smirk. My home was in LA. They couldn't change that. No matter what happened here. Paul wandered over and took some bags. The others then grabbed the rest of the boxes from the storage area. My mum would ship everything else later. Paul wrapped his big arm around my shoulder. "Welcome back to the island of misfit toys." He grinned. I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that from a kid's christmas film?" He just continued grinning as he led me outside. They all then loaded some of my stuff onto a pickup truck. "Dad's excited to see you." He explained. I grit my teeth. "I'm sure he is…" Paul then began to introduce me to all the other crazies.

"This is Seth and Leah Clearwater." Seth had grown so much over the past decade. He was huge like the rest of them.

"Jared Cameron, Brady Fuller, and Collin Littlesea." They were all identical looking to Seth, with slight facial difference to tell them apart. I couldn't even tell ages at this point.

"Quil Atera, Embry Call, and Jacob Black." Again, they were like triplets. Quil was slightly smilier though. And Embry looked bored. But when I looked at Jacob, my heart both leapt and sunk. I felt something pull me to him. _Hell no! _I screamed inside my mind. _I did not just… _But I had. Jacob stared at me, gawping. I quickly looked at Sam.

"And of course you know Sam Uley." I nodded at him respectfully. "It's great to meet you… see you again." Paul smirked at my discomfort, the asshat. We all headed to different vehicles. Sadly, Jacob was with me and Paul.

"So, Sophie. Are you looking forward to going home?" I shrugged at his question.

"It's not really my home. My home is LA." That looked like it stung both of the boys.

"You won't feel that way for long, I promise." Jacob tried to convince me. I shook my head in response.

"The only reason my mom sent me here, is because she's afraid of my hurting her im…husband. Not that I intend to phase ever again." I explained. Paul gave me a look of pity.

"Mom did the same to me, if you remember." I sighed, and nodded. He understood my denial. I knew he did. But he also knew I would be very against anything at that point.

"The guys are gonna go to Emily's, after we take your stuff into the house. Do you want to join us?" I shook my head immediately. I knew Paul was trying to be nice, but I didn't need babying. I needed solitude.

"You're missing out. Emily is the best cook ever. You have to try her oreo cakes sometime." Paul stated. Jacob then chimed in with a smile. "They're great. She bakes them with oreos in the bottom of the cake." I got the feeling that was one of the only agreements they'd ever had. There was then an awkward silence due to this, where Jake gazed at me whilst Paul gripped the wheel extremely harshly. So I tried to diffuse the tension.

"Have you guys ever played cards against humanity?" They both remained silent and confused. "It's basically where you have a black card which you have to fill the blanks for using your white cards that are shared out. The funniest answer wins." They both smirked.

"So you never win basically." Paul teased. I smirked.

"At least I don't have such a bad sense of humour, I tried and hit a bird for chirping at me when I fell over at twelve years old." I retorted. Paul looked horrified.

"I wasn't trying to hurt it." He stated. "I was trying to teach it manners." This made Jake and I both laugh.

"Manners? It's a bird, Paul." Jake smiled. Paul glared at him.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" I yelled, steering us away from the on going traffic. That's when I finally decided awkward silence was better than death on the journey back the Rez.


	2. Overcoming the Imprint

SOPHIE'S POV

I was relieved when we finally got home. I was terrified that Paul was going to shift inside a moving vehicle, killing Jacob and me in the process. As soon as the truck stopped, I realised I couldn't get out until someone moved. And neither of them did for a while. "Guys?" I asked cautiously. They both immediately turned to look at me. "Aren't we supposed to be getting out of the truck?" I asked. They both then leapt out of the truck to help put my stuff in my new room. I sat in there alone for a while. I didn't want to go inside yet. I was too afraid of facing the truth. Whilst deep in thought, I heard the door open beside me, causing me to swiftly turn my head. My father smiled at me.

"Hey Soph." He smiled. I returned the smile gladly, trying to pretend for a moment that I wanted this. He didn't buy it.

My father sat beside me. "I know you didn't ask for this, Sophie. But neither did the others. You have to live with what you get." I understood what he meant, but I really didn't need a lecture. Not now.

"I never wanted to be a wolf. And I still don't now." I stated. Without another word, he left me sitting there.

None of them understood. They all took it in their stride. Found a way to love it. But when I shifted for the first time, I was afraid of myself. I had no control of my anger. Who knows what could've happen had I hurt someone? I would've hated myself. Finally, I climbed out of the truck and headed inside.

My room was the same as when I'd left when I was eleven. There were purple walls with plain furniture. Above the desk was a cork board which I had stuck random slips of paper of using pins. Even though I lived here longer, I never felt like this was home. For some reason, I didn't fit. A piece in the wrong puzzle box. In LA, I felt safe and as if I belonged. I stared at the boxes around the room, before clambering onto the bed. Curling up with a pillow, I shut my eyes and cried.

JACOB'S POV

I sat with the rest of the pack, stuffing our faces full of food. I glanced at the couples in the room, and sighed inside. I wish that Sophie had acted on our imprint, like the others. I know she had only just arrived, but I know she felt it too. I noticed Paul across the room, glaring at me. "What's your problem?" I asked. Paul rose from his seat.

"You imprinted on my sister." He growled. Everyone looked over at me.

"Yeah." I confirmed his fears. "And she imprinted on me too."

I watched the vein on his forehead pop out. Luckily, Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. He turned away from me to face Rachel. "Now you know how he felt." She reasoned. Paul just shook his head.

"I only just got her home, and he has some damn claim on her. She's my baby sister!" He yelled, facing me again. There was an icy silence, as Paul and Rachel sat down. I followed by also taking a seat. The guys then all started talking, distracting from the situation.

I felt an ache in my chest. I immediately shot to my feet. "Something's wrong." I stated. None of the guys reacted. Except Paul. "Yeah. You imprinted on my baby sister." He was such a child. He couldn't even let me and Sophie be happy. Finally, Sam spoke up. "You are in pain when your imprint is in pain." He explained. My mouth formed an 'o' shape. And then I bolted from the house.

I got to their house in barely any time. Mr Lahote wasn't home, so I opened the door and let myself in. I knew she was here. And I knew she could tell I was here. I watched as she wandered out of her bedroom, tears streaming down her cheeks and mascara smudged under her eyes. Her hair fell in loose curls around her shoulders, messy from where she had obviously been lying down. Her chocolate brown eyes were narrowed. To me, I had never seen anyone so beautiful.

"What do you want?" She asked. I began to step forward, but she backed away.

"I wanted to see if you were okay." That answered rewarded me with a scoff and an eye roll.

"Look, I get that you feel you have to look out for me. But you don't." She explained confidently. This hurt me. So I turned away. But before I left the house, she spoke again.

"I'm sorry"

My ears were burning. Did she just… apologise? That was not a Lahote quality.

I turned back. "I know you are freaked out by all of this. But I will be here for you." This seemed to relieve her.

She smiled slightly. "Friends?" I nodded. It was a start. It gave me a chance to get to know her. To understand her. And it gave her the chance to be more comfortable here before being a part of the pack.

"So… friend. What now?" She asked.

I grinned. "I have something in mind."

SOPHIE'S POV

We sat on the floor of my room, playing cards against humanity. I looked at the black card and laughed. '_I got 99 problems but _ ain't one'. _I watched Jacob carefully. He was also watching me with caution. He finally placed at card down. '_Morgan Freeman's voice'._ I laughed at his choice.

"Very nice." I complimented. "But I can do better."

This awarded me a raised eyebrow of curiosity. So I placed my card down. '_An erection that lasts longer than four hours'. _Jacob immediately started laughing. "Okay. You win." He had won 3, I had won 7. It was nice to just hang out as friends, no pressures of being together. Though… The imprinting had made me all fuzzy around him which annoyed me.

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked.

"You just did." I joked. "But okay."

"Why are you so against being a wolf?" I sighed at his question. I wasn't surprised he asked me. None of them could really get it.

"My mom and dad always told me about the legends and how they were true. Paul was always fascinated and wanted to be a warrior. I was just scared." Jacob's eyes widened in shock. "I was scared that people were give those kinds of powers and the fact that they could abuse it and kill people." I looked up at him. "I know you guys protect the innocent, but tell me that there hasn't been one day, one incident, where an innocent got hurt because of the wolves." He looked me dead in the eye and no words came out. "I knew it." I whispered.

Jake then grabbed my hands, forcing me to look at him. "I know you're scared of us. I know you're scared of yourself. But please just try and understand." He attempted to explain. "We are not bad people. We have been thrown this like you and-"

"I know, but you guys have accepted it. You've come to terms with it and embraced it." I cut in.

"No, we haven't." This shocked me.

"We have all accepted it, yes. But we don't love it. We just do what we have to do to help everyone else." He was sincere in this, which was stunning.

I looked at him, confused. "But I thought… I figured you guys just loved being wolves."

He smiled slightly. "Love having anger problems? Love having to cut our hair? Love having this crazy gene which turns us into animals? Not really. But we learnt to control it because we wanted to use what we'd been given in a good way."

I was impressed. These guys were like me. I didn't even think about them. I was just being a selfish child, not realising the good I could do with this…_ thing. _ But I still couldn't bare to shift. Not yet at least. I leant over and kissed Jacob's cheek. His face froze in shock. "Thank you." I smiled.

"Now, best out of fifteen?" I teased.


	3. Overcoming the First Day

SOPHIE'S POV

When Paul drove me to the high school the next morning, I felt sick to my stomach. I looked at all the strangers and felt my heart sink into my stomach. I was terrified. Slowly getting out of the car, I looked around at everyone, before turning to Paul. Pulling me into a hug, I hid my face in his shoulder.

"Have fun." He stated. I raised an eyebrow, pulling away to look at him.

"Fun? It's school, Paul." I reminded him. His grin made me pout slightly.

"You know you'll love it." He teased.

Rolling my eyes, I left him there. I made sure to watch his car drive off before turning back to the hell hole called school. All of the strangers stared at me as I walked past. I tried to ignore, but nearly everyone was looking at me. At the top of the steps, I saw Jacob standing and waiting for me, causing me to smile involuntarily. He wrapped me in a hug before leading me inside.

"So, are you nervous?" He asked. He was such an idiot sometimes. But a cute idiot. _NO. Bad Sophie. _I scolded myself for those thoughts.

"I think I've past nervous and hit terrified."

He laughed lightly at my comment. "It won't be that bad. Besides, at least one person from the pack is in your class. Sam made sure of that." I rolled my eyes.

"What part of 'I am not going to shift ever again' did he not understand?" I asked.

"The 'not' and 'ever'." He mocked. I then stuck my tongue out at him. Suddenly, I was being pulled away from my only friend. An arm was linked through mine, and as I turned to see who it was, I panicked. Some random, bleach blonde, fake tanned, blue-eyed, barbie doll in a pink dress and heels was dragging me towards all her other barbie-knock-off friends.

"I'm Brittany." She introduced in her nasal-dominated voice. "And you're super cute. Totally our kind of girl." She smiled falsely, her fake-white teeth blinding me.

"Thanks, but I should get back to Jake." I turned my head to see him keeping up with us. Thank goodness.

Brittany just tutted. "Jake is strictly off limits." She stated. I laughed, causing her to glare at me.

"Jake has been my target for months now. He's super hot, super tall, and super sexy." I felt my expression turn slightly smug as I remembered he wasn't going to be interested in her. "And he will be mine. I promise." She then continued shoving me at her friends-slash-clones.

"This is Lindsay." She introduced. She had darker blonde hair, more golden than anything. Her light blue eyes looked as if she were trying to scan me.

"This is Missy." She also has bright blue eyes. Her hair was a natural brown, so she looked the most normal out of the three.

"This is Ashley." Ashley had black hair and green eyes. She was smaller than the others, and also looked pretty afraid.

"What's your name?" Lindsay droned.

"I'm…" I turned to see Jake standing right behind me. "I'm leaving for my lesson, but I'll see you around…" Jake immediately put his arm around my shoulder possessively and walked me to my lesson.

We got to my science room, where I saw Embry sitting at the back. I waved slightly before handing the teacher my note and hugging Jacob goodbye. "Miss Lahote, please take a seat at the back." I realised it was next to Embry, and grinned at him. Quickly sitting down, Embry elbowed me jokingly before the teacher began. It was a long lesson, but Embry and I spent that time throwing stuff at one another. Half way through, the teacher left, and I noticed Ashley alone in the corner. She looked so sad. I looked at Embry. "Be right back." I told him, before wandering over to Ashley.

"Hey." I greeted kindly.

She looked up at me with wide eyes. "Hi."

"I'm Sophie. Mind if I sit?" I asked. She just shook her head.

"Look, Ashley, are you okay? I mean, you didn't exactly seem happy with those barbie's this morning." She smiled slightly at my barbie comment.

"I joined late last year. They were nice." I looked at her doubtfully. "The last time a girl left their clique, Brittany and her 'barbies' practically killed her." She finally admitted. I bit my lip. Class A bitches with anger problems and a desperate desire to control. I knew them well.

I sighed and tried to reason with her. "The only way to get out, is to slowly find some new friends." I looked back at Embry. " And I'm gonna give you a head-start." I grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to Embry. "Embry, this is my new friend Ashley." They locked eyes. Embry's jaw dropped, and Ashley blushed. What had I just started? But it made me smile. With Embry, she'd be protected. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing she had been imprinted on. I sneakily swapped our stuff before the teacher came back in, allowing the love-birds to get to know one another.

Jake was waiting outside for me, like a gentleman. I turned and stood beside him, forcing him to watch my matchmaking. Embry and Ashley walked out and were almost kissing they were so close. Embry was leading her out by her hands to her next lesson, and turned around to face the same way, still holding her hand. _Awwww. _I thought to myself. Jacob just raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell did I just miss?" He asked me, clearly trying to figure this out.

"I may have just accidentally introduced Embry to his imprint." I explain with a smile.

Jake's grin expanded. "You little genius."

"Little?" I asked. "How dare you? I am five foot four. Before I shifted I was like five foot zero."

He smirked. "I'm still at least 6 inches taller than you." He explained. I then pouted, making him laugh.

"Come on, you little weirdo. Time for Gym." I groaned. I forgot I had to do Physical stuff. I have sucked at Gym since forever.

"Do I have to? They make the girls wear those little shorts." I reasoned. He raised an eyebrow suggestively, so I elbowed him in the chest. "Don't be an ass." I scolded. Jake then just laugh, causing a smile to grow on my face. He then led me down the hall to the changing rooms.

I stared at my reflection, horrified. I was in short shorts, which were black with bright pink edges, and a v-neck t-shirt in bright pink. She also had black knee-highs with two bright pink strips to go with the black trainers and pink laces. I glared at this girly girl. She looked like such a bitch. Brittany wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"You should wear stuff like this more. You'd attract so many more guys." She hissed, her agenda completely clear.

"I don't know. Any guy who likes me in this over my normal clothes, probably just wants to sleep with me." She laughed.

"Why is that a bad thing?" She asked. _Slut. _I thought to myself. I watched her slutty-barbie figure bounce out of the room. I took another look in the mirror, tightened my hair tie, and walked out of the room.

I saw Jacob and Quil chatting, and then Jake's eyes wandered over to reside on me. He seemed stunned. Quil jokingly wolf whistled. I responded by sticking my middle finger up at him. This made them both laugh. They had decent uniforms, in dark blue and black, along with decent length shorts. And no knee-highs. Do they want the girls to look like sluts? Jake kept grinning at me.

"You look good." He teased. I smacked his arm.

"No really." Quil stated. "I could barely tell you apart from the others."

I glared. "I hate you both." I saw hurt in Jake's eyes as soon as I had said it, making me feel bad, and in pain. Stupid imprinting. I turned around to see Embry standing with his arm around Ashley. "That was fast." I commented.

"Yeah. I wish I had it that easy." Quil said. Jake nodded silently, gazing at me. Damn him. He was trying to break me down. Couldn't he be happy with us being friends? But those green-brown eyes just melted me. I turned back to Quil.

"Who's your imprint?" I asked.

His face shrunk slightly as he spoke. "Claire." He presumed I would judge.

"Does she go here?" He shook his head.

"She's three."

He was right. I was judging. I was judging so hard. Quil noticed my expression. "Imprinting isn't always romantic. It's being a brother, or friend, or lover. Whatever they need. I don't have romantic feelings for Claire. I'm sure when she's older, that will change. But I don't now." I nodded, trying to understand. It was different for him. For the rest of us, the romantic feelings were already there. _No they aren't, _I tried to pretend. The lesson finally began, distracting me.

After a little while, I was put on the ropes. Since I was small, I couldn't climb a tree, let alone a rope. I grabbed it, terrified. Taking a deep breath, I pulled myself up on it. I could hold on! I kept pulling myself up, managing to reach the top before the other girls. I rung the bell. Quil, Embry, Ashley, and Jake all cheered. I then looked down. Jake caught my eye and realised I was terrified of getting down. He jogged over and stood underneath. I took a deep breath and began to get down. But just as I got near the bottom, my hand slipped. Jacob caught me in his arms, making us both look each other dead in the eye.

"Thank you." I smiled a bit when saying it.

He just continued gazing into my eyes. "You're welcome."

The whistle blew.

"Next stations!" The coach screamed. Jake was still holding me, and part of me didn't want to be put down. But he did. I saw Brittany glare at me, as I smiled at the back of Jake's head. This was getting so complicated. But I was too stubborn to accept what I knew was inevitable. So I just ran to the benches instead.


	4. Overcoming the Rage

JACOB'S POV

I could tell that Sophie was becoming more okay with the idea of the imprinting. The idea of her being a shapeshifter was another story. But, baby steps. I smiled at her, expecting her to bolt in the opposite direction because of what had happened in Gym. I had waited for her outside her Math class, and was looking forward to lunch with her, if she was speaking to me. She smiled and waved at me. I was shocked, but happy. So happy. I pulled her into a hug, and she seemed completely… fine. Weird.

"How was Math? Did you crunch those numbers?" I joked. She rolled her eyes.

"Sort of. Quil kept throwing pens at my head, so I… Well, you'll see." She smirked to herself. What did she do to poor Quil?

"What did you do?" I asked. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the cafeteria. Sparks shot through my arm. Walking through the doors, I spotted Quil.

And then I started laughing.

Sophie had drawn glasses on his face in sharpie, along with some love hearts on his cheeks.

"How did you do that? You amazing midget." She ignored my comment at her height and smiled proudly at her artwork.

"I'm a very immature person. Besides, he shouldn't be so inclined to close his eyes and stay still." She explain. "He thought it was my finger. Sucker."

I couldn't breathe from laughing so hard. And Quil had noticed us standing there. He stormed over, glaring. "You little…" He growled. I stood in front of her protectively. Quil stood in front of me, daggers being shot over my shoulder. "That little bitch drew on my face!" He shouted. I grinned proudly.

"What can I say? She's pretty amazing." Quil then started pushing me to get to her.

"I'm gonna kill you!" He screamed. Then I got angry.

"It was just a joke Quil. Back off." I ordered. He scoffed.

His eyes narrowed. "You wanted me to be humiliated. This won't come off for days! You are such a little… mutt!" My eyes widened. I immediately felt her pain. She stepped around me.

"I am NOT one of YOU." She yelled. He laughed.

"Prove it." He mocked.

And she did. She turned around, and walked away with her dignity intact. She was in control.

SOPHIE'S POV

What a jerk. He was the one who let me. He started it. If you can't take it, don't dish it out you pleb. I couldn't believe he called me that. How could he do that? I was so ready to wolf-out on his ass. But I knew I couldn't. So I left.

Jacob came running behind me. "Hey!" He called. I didn't want him to see me being a wuss, so I sucked it up and wiped my eyes. I then turned around to face him.

"Hey Jake." I greeted with a smile. He gave me a look.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Quil's an ass when he's angry." I stated.

Then Quil came running over. I turned on my heels and walked away from his speeding figure. Jacob followed. I reached the parking lot, but Quil grabbed by shoulder. "Hey, look. I'm sorry for being such a jerk. I didn't mean it."

"I have an idea." I scowled. "Why don't you go into the woods and play 'hide and go fuck yourself'?" Quil's head dropped.

"I didn't mean what I said. I promise. I just…" He sighed. "I can't control my anger like you." I couldn't look at his face. Mainly because of the sharpie I had drawn on it. I couldn't take him seriously. He looked so stupid.

"Sorry?" I asked. "I couldn't hear you over the bullshit clogging my ears." Man, I was on fire. Quil's head fell even lower.

"None of us can. Not even Sam. Your the first one to reject it, and still be able to control your temper." He explained. I looked to Jake. He nodded.

I finally sighed. "Look, I don't know how I do it. I just don't let it control me. I don't let myself _not _think about my actions. Not even for a second." They clearly didn't get it, and I didn't either to be fair to them. "It's harder to explain than it is to actually do."

So I finally accepted Quil's apology. And we went back inside for our last lesson.

I couldn't stop thinking about what Quil had said. Did none of them have control of themselves? Why did I, if they didn't? The whole thing made absolutely no sense to me. And when Jake met me after my last lesson to drive me home, I was still thinking about it.

"Are you okay?" He asked. I turned my head to face him, not really paying attention. "What?" I then realised what he had asked. "Oh, yeah I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You're pretty deep in thought." He explained. I shrugged.

"I can't stop thinking about what Quil said. About none of you having control." Jake's eyebrow raised.

"Do you guys really not have control over your anger?" He nodded.

"Some are worse than others. I have pretty good control, but I can still be set off from time to time." He explained. "Your brother is actually the one with the worst temper."

I was shocked. Growing up, I was always the pain and the drama queen. Paul was the calm and reasonable one. I couldn't believe that this 'transformation' had had such an effect on my brother, and the opposite on me.

"Quil is actually one of the better ones at control, but he's the newest after Seth. It takes time to be able to calm yourself down." I looked up at him.

"How do you do it?" I asked.

"I think of the things I like and love. Mainly my dad. And my mom. How she wouldn't be proud if she saw me hurt someone." I nodded. It made sense to me. He needed a stronger incentive to stay calm.

"But I thought Paul had your sister. Isn't she enough?" Jake growled under his breath.

"Unfortunately, my sister isn't a big enough incentive to stay calm." I could tell this topic made him angry. But I needed to know something.

"I don't understand you two." I stated plainly. Jake immediately look at me like I was insane. "You imprinted on each other's sisters and you still hate each other." Jake kept looking at me. It was the first time I mentioned our imprinting explicitly.

"LOOK OUT!" I yelled, pulling the wheel away from the ditch we were heading towards, swerving a few cars.

"Can none of you guys drive? How the hell did you get your licenses, and I didn't because one time I accidentally hit a squirrel?" Jake started laughing. "You hit a squirrel? And I'm the bad driver?" He teased. I hit his arm. "I can't imagine the amount of things you have killed with this death trap."

"No. It's just you're a distraction when driving." He explained. I blushed. Wait… why did I blush? ARG! Stupid imprinting! He pulled over as we had finally reached my house in one piece.

"Well then, maybe I shouldn't spend so much time with you then if I'm such a distraction." I mocked with a smile. A pout appeared on his face as I climbed out of his car and walked into the house, having to force myself from not looking back at him.


	5. Overcoming the Second Day

SOPHIE'S POV

The next morning was a blur. I had somehow made it to school, and didn't look like a complete zombie. My body slightly ached; Probably due to the amount I had grown over the last few months. Jacob and Quil waited by my locker for me. Over their shoulders, I saw two things. The first, was Embry and Ashley kissing. I wasn't sure whether to be grossed out or find it sweet. The second, was Brittany and the Barbie crew glaring at me. Then a genius idea hit me.

"Hey, guys. Could you do me a favour?" I asked, a dark grin on my face. They raised an eyebrow at me. "Talk to those girls over there."

Jacob's face dropped.

I rolled my eyes. "Not because I am giving you to them!" I told him.

"They've been telling me you're of limits, and one has a Quil obsession." They both then smirked.

I watched as they went over to talk to the girls, waiting for the train wreck. I watched Brittany laughing and flicking her fake hair over her shoulder. And then her face dropped. I saw Jacob looked back at me, and smiled at him kindly before turning to open my locker. After I took out my books, closing the door, they began to walk over again.

"How did it go?" I questioned. Jake grinned and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"She knows I am off limits. Except to you." My face felt hot. I quickly changed to ask Quil. He wasn't so successful getting them off my back.

"I have a date for the dance." My mouth fell open. There was this stupid winter dance in about a month, and Quil had decided to take Lindsay. Good job Quil. Good job.

"You're an idiot." I nudged Jake's arm away, stepping towards Quil.

"Those girls will eat you alive. Hide your kids and hide your wife." I stated, hoping he'd get the reference and quickly change his mind. He didn't.

"She's not a bad person." He insisted. I groaned.

"She's not Claire, Quil. You can't just replace her till she grows up." His eyes narrowed.

"Why the hell not? Seth is the only one who gets it. And even he doesn't have to wait as long as I do because his imprint grows up in like six more years. Why can't I just hang out with her? Where's the harm?" He asked. I sighed. He wasn't about to listen to me. Especially since the lines I drew in sharpie were still lightly there.

"Fine. But when she becomes super obsessive, don't blame me." I commanded.

He smirked. "I won't."

I glanced over, to see Brittany waving at Jacob. "I thought you got rid of her."

"There was a catch."

I stared at him. "What did you do?" I asked, panicked slightly.

"I also have a date for the dance."

My heart kind of hurt. For some stupid and ridiculously pathetic reason, the fact he was going with someone else actually hurt me. Moron.

"I'm not going." I shrugged. I wasn't going to go anyway. But this put me off completely. They both looked at me.

"Why not?" Quil asked. I raised my hands to gesture 'I don't know'.

"I might go visit my mom." I lied. They both nodded, believing me.

The truth was, I wasn't a girly girl. I never wore skirts or dresses. I occasionally wore shorts. But jeans were my go-to item of clothing. I never wore anymore makeup than mascara, and on special occasions I shaped my eyebrows a bit more. I played video games. I liked cars. I would rather hang out in the woods alone than go shopping with people. I was just… very masculine. So the idea of wearing a pretty dress with makeup and my hair done was really unappealing. I heard the bell ring.

"Time for English." I quickly said, and walked away as fast as I could.

The rest of the day, I spent in the library. I didn't feel up for facing Brittany and the clones right now. I was missing LA, and the sun on my face. I missed my guy friends, and their crazy gaming nights. I missed staying at home and doing nothing. I missed my mom. But it didn't matter. I was stuck here now. So I was spending the day sulking, before I went back to trying to be okay with the whole thing.

When it was time to leave, I waited for Paul's car in the parking lot. He was ten minutes late. That wasn't like him. I looked at my phone. No messages. No calls. Weird. I turned to see the others in the pack leaving. Jake immediately looked at me, walking over.

"You're avoiding me." I shook my head.

"I'm avoiding _everyone." _I explained. "Except Paul. Who was supposed to be picking me up." Jake gave me a look, so I quickly changed my voice. "But I'm sure he's just running late on patrol. Or has fallen asleep." He continued standing there, looking at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You're acting weird."

I laughed. "I _am _weird, Jake. You should know that." He rolled his eyes, smiling. He then accepted that I was gonna wait here all night if need be.

"I have patrol, but I'll see you later?" He questioned.

I shrugged. "Maybe. Depends when Paul shows up." He then just waved and hopped on his bike, driving off.

An hour later, I was still waiting. And it was getting dark. I growled. I wasn't going to wait here all night. I began to walk home, taking a short cut through the woods. It was sunset already, and it was a very scenic route home.

I started thinking of being a wolf. Maybe, by rejecting the gene, I rejected the anger. It made more sense than anything else. I couldn't just be the only one able to control themselves. That made less sense in my mind. I guess, if I could control it… Maybe I could choose when to shift. Instead of shifting when angry, maybe I could shift when ever I want. I could control it. But I still wasn't ready to try.

Then I heard a crashing noise.

I was stood face to face with a vampire, red eyes staring at me. I couldn't deny, he was beautiful. His dark hair was as smooth as his skin. He was dressed very casually, but it looked great on him neither the less. The vampire also stood there, staring at me.

"You're a wolf." He stated, his nostrils flaring in anger.

I shook my head. "No." I defied. "I am human." He examined me again.

"How interesting." He muttered to himself. I felt a shudder go down my spine.

"Why are you here?" I asked, stalling for time.

He barred his teeth. "I am searching for the Cullens."

"Well you are on the wrong side of the town." I explained. "The Cullens live in the woods of Forks. This is the Reservation."

He nodded. "That makes sense." He then looked at me.

"Why are you being helpful?" I shrugged.

"Who knows? I might just be in a less bitchy mood than usual." I guessed. Then I saw Jake's russet form coming closer. The wolf pounced on the vampire, tearing it's body apart.

"Or, I was leading you to your death, knowing that the pack don't trust me on my own." I stated, directing it at Jacob. He just gave me a sheepish look.

"I could've handled it, Jake." I scowled, crossing my arms. He stared at me in shock, as if he couldn't believe I was scolding him for saving my life. But I was. I am that stubborn. Paul's figure then emerged.

"I thought you were gonna wait for me!" He yelled. I rolled my eyes.

"I've been waiting over an hour, Paul. I got bored." I snapped. He narrowed his eyes at Jacob.

"There was a vampire. Jake killed it. Moving on. Can I go now?" I asked. Paul sighed and shook his head.

"Let's go, you suicidal moron." I growled under my breath at his insult.

Paul then walked me the rest of the way through the woods, leading me back to the house.

"Why were you late, anyway?" I asked. Paul looked embarrassed.

"I fell asleep."

I just laughed.


	6. Overcoming the Flirt

SOPHIE'S POV

The third day of school was boring as hell. Though the morning was eventful.

I walked in to see Jacob and Quil surrounded by the clones, involving Embry and Ashley as well. Poor Missy. So lonely. Jake's face lit up when he saw me. He tried to push through to me, but ended up being pulled back by Brittany. So Ashley came instead, minus her new attachment, Embry.

"Hey! How are you?" She asked, pulling me into a hug.

I smiled. "Good. I see you and Embry are very cosy." I grinned, proud of myself. She just blushed.

"You introduced me to him. I didn't think it would-"

"I'm happy for you." I admitted. She stared in shock.

"Really?"

I nodded. "Really. You are perfect together. I am glad you guys met." She then smiled wider.

"It's all thanks to you. You're a great friend." She complimented, hugging me again before rushing back to Embry. I was really warmed by her sentiment. I had never been called a good friend. That was so sweet. And seeing her so happy with Embry, only made me feel even happier. Apparently that was clear.

"What are you so happy about?" A male voice asked.

I glanced over at the stranger. "I set up two of my friends." I explained.

"You're a good friend. I wish mine would set me up with girls as pretty as you two." He flirted. I turned to face him.

"I'm Cole. Cole Richardson." He introduced, sticking out his hand. I took it, and he pulled it towards his mouth in order to peck the back of my hand. My face was red.

"Sophie Lahote." He smiled and continued holding my hand.

"It's nice to meet you Sophie."

And then the bell rung.

"I hope to see you around, Miss Lahote." He called back as he left me stood there, grinning. What a smooth little player. It still felt good. I turned to see Jacob shaking with anger. Instead of going to tell him nothing was happening, which I knew I probably should, I walked in the opposite direction blankly. But inside, I could feel he was hurt.

I saw Cole again two days later, at lunch. He waved at me from his lunch table, full of Jocks. I waved slightly back before seeing Jacob and Embry come over.

"You coming, or are you gonna stand there flirting all day?" I rolled my eyes at Jacob's snarky comment.

"Can I choose?" I mocked cruelly. Jake quickly turned away and stormed back to their table. Embry just shook his head at me.

"What? I can't flirt? I'm not even with him!" I tried to explain to Embry. He just shook his head.

"That's not the point. You're his imprint. You should be with him, and not hitting on other guys. Imagine how any of the rest of us would feel seeing our imprints with other people." He scolded, before following. I sighed. I couldn't do anything right. I wasn't ready to be tied to Jake for eternity. I'm seventeen, and haven't even had a date yet. How sad is that? Probably not to many people. But for me, it shows my lack of approachable-ness. So, I dug the knife in further. I went and sat next to Cole at his table.

"Hey! I didn't think you would. Your friend seemed pretty angry." Cole smiled at me.

I shrugged with a smiled. "He's not my keeper."

JACOB'S POV

She could feel this was hurting me. I know she could. But she just sat there, laughing at his jokes and flirting with him. And that made me mad.

But I couldn't just storm over and phase. She would be scared of me, and I would ruin everything Sam had built on. But watching her over at their table made me want to. And the others could tell.

"Jake. Chill. She's just being a bitch because she can't accept the imprint." Embry stated, his arm around his imprint. Ashley was talking to Leah, so wasn't paying attention.

"But look at her. Why can't she be that happy around me?" I whined. Quil slapped my arm.

"Stop whining. She is way happier around you, and we all have seen it."

"Then why is she flirting with that meat headed dick?" Seth then spoke with food stuffed in his mouth.

"Because you rejected her, and asked that blonde chick to the dance." He stated through the food. We all stared at him. When did he become so wise?

"If you had asked her to the dance, she probably wouldn't be hanging out with that guy right now."

And we all knew Seth was right. If I had just asked her, and had kept trying to be with her, she wouldn't be with _Cole _right now. And Brittany wouldn't be making goo-goo eyes at me right now from across three tables. So I did the only thing I knew how to do. I went and sat with Brittany, dragging Quil with me.

SOPHIE'S POV

Cole and his friends were hilarious. None of them knew what banter was until I brought it to the table. Now the banter was flying, and I was laughing.

"So, what sport do you guys play?"

"Football, Volleyball, Soccer. Whatever is in season." One of Cole's friends explain.

I smirked. "So you guys have done synchronised swimming?" I asked jokingly. They all then silently looked at Cole. My mouth opened and shut like a fish.

"My sister made me! It was blackmail!"

I then laughed. "That's some serious blackmail. I bet you wore a frilly pink cap." I teased. He pushed me gently in annoyance.

That wasn't a no.

I watched Jake walk over to Brittany and her friends with Quil. My heart sank. But I shook my head and ignored the jealousy. I couldn't be jealous. But it hurt to see him flirting with her. _I am such a bitch. _I thought to myself. I put him through worse, no doubt. But nothing was even happening with Cole. And now Jake was whispering in Brittany's ear as she giggled.

I jumped up from my seat and rushed from the cafeteria, heading for the woods.

JACOB'S POV

I was a brilliant flirt. Most guys were. But I had this blonde eating out of the palm of my hand. And I watched as Sophie fled from the cafeteria. I had won this. So why did I feel bad? _Because you're a dick. _I thought. I had let my anger get the better of me, and now my imprint was hurting. I suck.

"You okay, Jakey?" Brittany asked, so close she was breathing my air. I shuddered.

"Yeah, I just was thinking… about… the dance…" I lied. I then saw Ashley and Embry chasing after Sophie. I am such a dick.

SOPHIE'S POV

I should've known he would get me back. But I wasn't even flirting. It was completely platonic. But that didn't stop him. I was fine, until her started whispering sweet fucking nothings to her. That was where I drew the line. I sat by a tree, hugging my knees. How could I have such strong feelings for a guy I had only known for a week. That was just crazy.

I saw Ashley and Embry rushing over. Ashley sat beside me, holding me in her arms. "I'm sorry, Soph." She comforted.

"Jacob crossed a line. Even I saw that. What a dick." He growled.

I shrugged. "I started it. He just decided to take it to a new level." I then found tears falling down my cheeks. "I wasn't even flirting. It was completely innocent." I tried to defend myself. Embry began shaking, but I was too late to stop him from storming back inside. But I knew what he was going to do. And it would not be pretty.


	7. Overcoming the Shifting

JACOB'S POV

I felt extremely shit. How could I have been such a moron? She was struggling enough with her feelings without me being a prick about it. I excused myself from the table, and headed down the hall to find her. But Embry was already heading inside, glaring at me.

"Where is she?" I asked. He growled. "Embry?"

"She doesn't wanna see you." He stated angrily. My eyes widened. But he continued.

"How could you do that to her? I thought you wanted to make it work with her, not make her hurt." He scolded.

"She started it." I whined, childishly.

Embry shook his head. "You don't get it. She wasn't flirting with him. They're friends. You only have to look at her to know that." Now I just felt worse.

"Just let me see her. Let me explain." I begged. But he refused.

"I called Paul to pick her up. Ashley's gonna stay with her till he does. Don't go near her." That made me mad.

"She's _my _imprint, Embry. You can't tell me to stay away from her." I grimaced. Then I let my expression soften. "I love her."

"Then you shouldn't have treated her like crap." He glared at me with hatred. Then Ashley came running in. She was panicked. She rushed into Embry's arms, terrified and shaking. "What's wrong, babe?"

"Sophie… Wolf… Run off… Oh god…" She was frantic.

Sophie had shifted.

SOPHIE'S POV

"You don't have to stay with me." I insisted. Ashley just shook her head.

"No girl should be left alone when dealing with boy problems."

I groaned in annoyance. "But I'm not gonna do anything. Paul will be here any second. Can't I just be alone?" But she just shook her head. I had been watched since the day I got here. I hadn't had any peace and quiet since forever, unless I snuck away. There was only one thing to do.

I forced my body to start shaking. I focused on my breathing, and had the image of a wolf in my mind. Ashley's eyes widened as I stood up.

"Sophie…?"

"There's something I haven't told you about yet, Ash." I tried to reason. I looked into her eyes and pleaded with her. "Don't freak out."

Then I burst out of my skin.

My fur was long, because of my extremely long hair, and was milk chocolate coloured, like my eyes. Ashley stared at me in horror. I used a paw to move the fur from my eyes, and then slowly lied down, so as not to scare her. She slowly walked towards me, and finally patted my head cautiously. Then she turned around.

"Embry!" She called.

I immediately got up and sprinted through the woods. I had never felt freedom like this. It was weird. And I hadn't even been angry when I shifted. I was controlled. Voices swum around my head.

_Sophie? What're you doing? _Sam asked, worrying.

_Sophie? I thought Paul had just gone to pick you up. _That was Jared.

_I needed some alone time. And don't worry, I didn't shift by accident. No one is hurt, and I am in complete control. _I thought in my head.

I could hear Sam's internal sigh.

I then saw a picture of a clearing. I guessed that was where they wanted me to meet them. So I ran as fast as my four legs could carry me, my long fur flying backward in the wind. If I was gonna keep this up, I would have to cut my hair. _But it's so long and nice! _I contradicted. I'll cross that bridge when it comes. I finally reached the clearing, and saw the two wolves waiting for me, who I might add were larger than me.

_You need a hair cut. _Jared mocked.

I rolled my large eyes at him, causing him to smirk in his head.

_Sophie. _Sam caught my attention.

_Is this what you want? _He asked.

To be honest, I wasn't sure. I had been continually denying this part of myself for about a month or so. Mainly because I thought I was going to lose control. But now that I could control it, I didn't know. It felt good. Being a wolf seemed to be a comfortable thing, which I didn't expect. I looked down at my front paws and wiggled my ears. I was curious as to how I must look. But I liked this.

_Yes. _I told him. _Yes it is._

He nodded his large head and then gestured for us to follow him. But before we left, I felt more people join us. Then there were howls in the distance.

_Sam. Where're Sophie? _Jake's voiced asked. I growled in response.

_If he comes near me, I will bolt. _I made clear, knowing Jacob could hear it.

_C'mon Soph. Please. _

I then thought about him whispering I don't know what into Brittany's ear.

_JACOB! _Sam and Jared scolded.

Jacob thought of nothing else but sorry. So I ignored him.

_Who else is here? _Sam asked.

_It's me. _Quil greeted. _And Seth, Jacob and Embry. Leah is waiting for Paul. They'll join us as soon as they can. _

_Good. Brady and Collin are here too. _Jared told us all.

_Everyone meet at Emily's. Except Jacob. I want you to tell Paul and Leah where we are. _Sam ordered.

In my mind, I smiled. He was protecting me. I loved him for that, but I could take care of myself.

_I'll wait for Paul. I want him to know what's going on. _I stated. Plus, I really wanted to try out my new wolf form.

_Okay. _Sam agreed. _Everyone else, follow me. _

I watched them all go, and saw Jacob with his head hung as he followed. He should be sorry. I didn't do anything to provoke him to that level. He got there himself.

Once they were gone, I wandered back to the school. I felt the leaves under my feet and felt the cool air go through my fur. Something in my instinct made me want to howl. So I did. My voice echoed through the forest, spreading through the Reservation. It felt so good. Then Leah and Paul came running.

_Are you okay? _Paul asked, nuzzling me. I nuzzled back.

_I'm okay. _I then showed him short scenes of what happened.

His large eyes narrowed. _I'll kill him._

Leah growled in agreement. I shrugged my large shoulders in response.

_We're all meeting at Emily's. Kill him there._ I told him blankly, masking my feelings.

I followed them to Emily's house on the edge of the woods, about five minutes from La Push beach. Seth was waiting outside with clothes for us. I followed their lead and grabbed some underwear and a shirt and shorts. I then went deep into the forest and shifted back. I fell to the ground, stark naked. I then rushed to clothe myself, and looked at the clothes. I missed my jeans. I bet they were completely ripped. I then wandered back, bare-foot, to Emily's little log-cabin house. Paul was waiting for me, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder protectively before we walked in. Sam then asked everyone to sit down.

"Now that Sophie has _finally _chosen to join the pack, we can put the patrol shifts in place I have had planned. Each person will now be doing 3 shifts each week, instead of 4. I will be taking on extra. As will Jared as he is my Beta." Sam explained.

"I'll show my sister the ropes." Paul volunteered, glaring in Jacob's direction. Sam nodded in agreement.

"I'll have to call the Cullen's to let them know about a new shifter. They'll probably want to meet you." Paul and Jake both growled.

"Okay. I don't mind. We're at peace with them right now, right? So it shouldn't be an issue." Sam was clearly thankful for my cooperation.

"So if that's all, I'll let you guys go if you want."

Emily walked out. "If not, I have food."

All the guys rushed for the food, whilst I snuck out of the cabin.

JACOB'S POV

"Sophie. Please. Just let me explain."

"Explain what?" She asked, not looking me in the eye. "How you were childish and thought you'd make me jealous just because I had made friends with some guys, and how it went too far and now you can't take back what you did?"

That pretty much explained it.

She sighed. "I'm not mad at you." My eyes widened in shock.

"I have no reason to be mad. We aren't together. We're friends. I made that choice. I don't have the right to be jealous."

I couldn't believe how reasonable she was being.

"It would be wrong of me to hate you for trying to be with someone. That makes no sense."

"But-"

"Jake, it's fine. No harm done. I was wrong to act so emotional. I'm sorry." My mouth remained wide open. She then closed it for me, and immediately removed her hand.

"You'll catch flies." She smiled slightly. I then watched her walk away. I was in complete shock. She was so casual about the whole thing. And somehow, that made me very uncomfortable.

What was going on here?


	8. Overcoming the Mall

SOPHIE'S POV

It was the weekend, and I found myself waking up earlier than usual. My hair was sprawled across my pillow, and I knew that that was going to change soon. So I started playing with it. I was going to miss having long hair. I was going to miss it a lot. Then there was a knock on my bedroom door.

"Soph? You in?" I heard Ashley's voice. I clambered up and opened the door. She was stood there, holding two chocolate muffins in her hand.

"I thought we could spend the day together. I need a mall buddy."

I raised my eyebrow. "Are those triple chocolate?" I asked. She nodded frantically.

"I smiled. "I'm in."

So Ash and I headed for Seattle. She was rambling on about how her and Embry were planning to do something or other that evening. She was saying how she wished Jacob and I could be like that and then they could go on double dates. I was only half listening really. She looked over at me.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Are you sure?"

"Why are you not freaking out? You saw me yesterday." I tried to understand. Ashley nodded.

"Embry explained everything to me." She told me. "And I trust you guys. Which may seem insane. But I love Embry. And you're the first friend I've ever had." I cracked a smile at that.

"You guys seem so happy." I admitted.

She nodded. "That's because _I _didn't reject the imprint." She explained knowingly.

I stared at her. "I… I…"

"Don't worry about it. I get it. Your scared."

I raised my head indignantly. "I am _not _scared."

"Then what is it?"

I sighed. "I don't want my life decided for me."

"So you're stubborn."

"I am not stubborn!" I yelled. She rolled her eyes. I proved her point well.

"Fine." I pouted.

Ashley parked the car in the parking lot outside the mall. Ugh. The mall. Ash's face lit up. So I forced myself out of the car and headed inside with her. I watched as Ashley did a little happy dance. "I love the mall."

I hate the mall. But she loved it, and I owed her for being so awesome.

She led me straight to the hair parlour. "Embry said that all wolves have short hair." I felt immediately panicked. I didn't want to lose my hair. Ever. But she sat me in that damn chair and the guy came over. He was obviously gay, but I loved that about him.

"Darlin'. Why'd you wanna cut this gorgeous hair off?" He asked. I didn't. But I didn't want to give up shifting. Not since yesterday. So I shrugged.

"It's time for a change." I told him. He nodded and pulled out his large scissors.

I couldn't look. I could hear the scissors cutting, and felt the hair falling down the back of my shirt. I wanted to mourn the loss of it.

But once he was done, the guy held up a mirror.

Wow.

I had a long fringe covering my right eye, and it barely can down to my chin. It had been layered, long in the front and short in the back. Backwards mullet hair. But it was super cute. For some reason, I actually really liked it.

"You look so cute." Ashley complimented. I swept the fringe out of my eyes and messed up my hair a bit me.

"I love it." I grinned. "And it's so much less work." I realised.

The guy just grinned and skipped off into happy land. I payed for my hair, and then followed Ash out of the salon. We then headed for the dress shop. I threw up inside my head. Ashley saw my expression.

"It's not that bad." She tried to comfort. I just sighed and hung my head.

She dragged me inside. Obviously, she had more of a fashion sense than I did. She began shoving dresses and shoes at me. I groaned as she piled them up, a huge smile on her face. I didn't want to kill her joy, but I had to be honest.

"Wait!" I stopped her. She turned to face me.

"This is stupid. I'm not even going." Her face dropped.

"WHAT?!" She screamed. Everyone in the shop turned and looked at us.

"I wasn't gonna go to the dance." I admitted. "I don't have a date."

"What about Jake?"

"He's going with _Brittany." _

Her eyes widened, and then she frowned. "He's a moron." I laughed.

"I'm not going then." She threatened.

"But … But Ash…"

"Embry has patrol on that night. He swapped so that Quil could go." She wanted us to go together? Awww.

"Fine. But nothing pink and frilly." She didn't listen to me.

She brought out every colour. There was even a bright pink one, which I snuck back on the rails while she wasn't paying attention. I made her try them on two. She wanted to go in the first place. So we both were changing into different dresses, taking pictures together. It was so… girly. But I had to admit it was kind of fun. Finally, Ash found a dress.

It was a dark green, which went with her eyes. It was floor length and was covered in lace. The dress underneath had a straight neckline, with lace going above and as long sleeves. She looked like the forest queen.

"Awww, Ash. Embry is gonna be so sad he can't go." So I sneakily had a plan. I would let Embry go, and take his patrol shift. I let her force me into another dress, and I saw her tear up as I walked out.

It was a blue dress with a netted, puffy skirt. It had a sweetheart neckline and a ribbon below the bust in black. It was… pretty. Not that I was gonna wear it. So I bought it, knowing I could send it back later, and we headed out of the shop.

That's when I crashed straight into Brittany.

"Oh wow. Look at the lesbian and the slut." She laughed. Lindsay and Missy giggling behind her. I just smirked.

"Slut? At least Ash can keep her legs shut longer than ten seconds." Ash smiled at me. Brittany then flicked her hair.

"Have fun at the dance. I know I will." She implied a lot with just that one sentence. And it made me mad. But I took a deep breath and ignored her.

"Don't listen to her. She only has him for the dance. And then he won't talk to her again."

I doubted that somehow, but it didn't matter. We climbed back in the car, and I quickly pulled out my phone.

'_I will take your patrol shift on the night of the dance. Surprise for Ash. Show up at her house at 7.' _

I sent the message and turned to her. "Pick you up at 7?" I questioned. She smiled and nodded. The plan was in place. Now, all I had to do was wait two weeks for the surprise to come to light.

I was looking forward to this.

I let Ashley drop me back and rushed into the house, where Paul and Rachel were snuggled on the couch. Dad was on a business trip again, and wasn't going to be back till next Friday. They stared at me as I came in.

"That's new." Paul commented. I rolled my eyes.

"It was for Ashley. Don't start thinking I am a girl."

He grinned at my mistake. "Don't worry. I won't be making that mistake any time soon."

I looked at Rachel for help and she hit him in the face with a pillow. Paul then tackled her and pinned her to the sofa. They started kissing.

"Ew." I felt sick. "Get a room."

Paul grinned cheekily. "We have one."

I then made a vomiting noise and went into my room, hanging the dress up.

Maybe I'll keep it. Just in case.


	9. Overcoming the Patrol

SOPHIE'S POV

Today was my first ever patrol. I was both excited and scared, because it was a big deal. I had never done it before. I figured it was just running in circles for hours. But I was looking forward to it anyway. I sped out of the room, wearing shorts and a t-shirt. In my arms were fresh clothes which I was going to put by a tree outside the house. Paul looked me up and down.

"Someone's ready for their first day of training." He smirked. I rolled my eyes.

"You gonna train me or what?" So he got up and headed outside with me.

I placed the clothes down and then focused on shifting. We both exploded out of our skin's. My fur was shorter, and easier to move in. I moved my paws, walking backward and forward for a few seconds. Paul barked with laughter. We then both headed into the woods.

_What can you see? _Paul asked.

_Trees. _I told him blankly. He rolled his large wolf eyes.

_Look ahead. Can you see Emily's house through the trees? _He asked. So I looked. Amazingly, I could see all the way to La Push beach. But I focused on Emily and Sam's place.

_Now, the route goes round the edge of the cliffs all the way to their house. _ He explained. _We go through the forest after meeting at their house. _

And off we went. We were strolling around the route, Paul had gone in the opposite direction so we could meet at Emily's house. As I ran, I caught a scent. It was like bleach. I cringed at the smell.

_Vampire. _Paul growled in my mind.

_What do I do? _I asked. Paul then started refusing my involvement.

_Stay there. _He ordered.

I didn't listen.

I stalked my prey, like Diego in the water in Ice Age 2. I watched the vamp move. She had long gold hair. She turned to face me, her red eyes scowling in my direction. So, I jumped on her.

We were both scrambling to win the fight, whilst Paul screamed in my head for me to stop. She leapt on my back. Immediately I knew this was bad, so I jumped up and slammed my back on the floor. It left a dent in the ground. But she continued holding on. So I started spinning around in circles. Finally, she leapt off, grabbing a tree. I then stopped spinning, but by that point it was too late. She was underneath my legs. She grabbed my back leg and snapped it twice, at both my knee and my ankle. I howled in pain.

_I'm nearly there sis. Stay calm. _He tried to comfort.

I grabbed her in my mouth a chewed on her head, finally tearing it off and spitting it on the other side of the woods. I then tried to pull myself up onto three legs, and started heading towards Emily's house. Paul met me on the way.

_You okay? _I shook my head.

_That thing broke my leg. _I explained. _I should be alright. _

We got to Emily's house and Paul barked. Emily rushed out with clothes, and saw my leg. "Oh, Sophie…" How dare she pity my? I just took out a vamp with one of my legs broken. She should be impressed. I grabbed the clothes in my mouth and walked off into the woods, shifting back and changing.

Paul shook his head at me as I limped over, my foot facing the wrong way and my knee bending slightly backwards.

"Next time I tell you to stop, just stop!" He yelled. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm fine Paul." I tried to convince. Emily then grabbed me and helped me waddle in.

"Why have so many vampires come recently?" I asked.

Paul was still scowling. "Why is it you who always finds them, is the real question." He insisted. I then remembered the first one was heading for the Cullens.

"The Cullens." I realised, my eyes wide. Paul looked over at me. "The first one was looking for the Cullens." I told Paul. He seemed confused.

"If the Cullens had vamps visiting, they would tell us."

"Not if they weren't invited guests." I reasoned. Paul then also knew what I meant.

"You think they are being sent to the Cullens house, without the Cullens knowing."

"Well, yeah. I thought that was obvious." Paul then jumped up and grabbed the phone.

"Sam? I need you at Emily's." He then hung up instantly. Turning to look at my leg.

"You need to get that looked at." I flinched as Emily touched it, and then pretended it didn't hurt.

"I'm fine." I tried to tell him.

"I'll call Doctor Leech." I groaned. I was fine. My leg just happened to be… twisted? Whatever it was, it would heal. Paul left the room with the phone, whilst I waited with Emily. Then Jacob rushed in.

"What happened?" He panicked, looking at me. He was shocked. "Wow." He commented on my new look. Then his eyes opened widely as he stared in horror at my leg. I just scoffed.

"I'm fine! You guys need to stop worrying." I told him. He rushed to sit beside me.

"That is not fine. What happened?"

"Another rogue vamp. I killed it. No big." Clearly it was big.

"Paul let you kill a vamp alone?!" He yelled.

Paul walked back in. "No I didn't. She completely went against my warning and now her leg is screwed up. That's on her, not me." He contradicted.

So they all waited till Sam got back, having to explain to him what happened as well. He wasn't pleased. I was scolded like a child for not listening to Paul, and was now under the watchful eye of Sam the Alpha. Yay. Not. Doctor Cullen finally showed his face. I hadn't met him before, but he seemed… decent.

He looked at my leg with pity. "I don't know why you risked yourself like that, Miss Lahote." He told me. "You didn't need to."

"They were coming for you." I explained. That caught both Sam and Carlisle's attention.

"_They?" _Carlisle asked.

So I explained. "Some guy the other day said he was looking for you. And now this chick shows up. My guess is they want to talk or harm you. I think it's meant to be a surprise visit." I told him. "I guess the cat's out of the bag."

Carlisle looked worried by this news. After snapping my leg back into place, he gave me some pain medication and left, clearly brooding over something. I figured it would take a day or so to heal, but I wasn't about to let it stop me doing anything. I got up off the sofa, and began walking towards the door. I tripped and, luckily, Paul and Jake caught my arms to stop me falling on my face.

"I'll take you home." Paul declared.

Jake came with us, clearly hanging around out of fear for his imprint. Great. Jacob insisted carrying me there, not letting my foot touch the ground.

"They aren't both broken you know." I told him.

He grinned. "I know. But it gives me an excuse to carry you." I smirked and rolled my eyes. Paul just gagged.

"Knock it off you two." Paul commanded, revolted at pretty much nothing.

Jake just smirked. "What you mean this?"

And then he kissed me long and hard.

It was weird. I had never been kissed so randomly before. My eyes were wide with shock. I was stunned to the point I couldn't actually move. But it felt kind of… good. I pulled away, my face turning red. I looked over at Paul, to see him grimacing and storming ahead.

"What was that?" I asked.

Jake just raised his eyebrows suggestively at me. "Just needed to get it out of my system."

"So how long is that gonna last you?" I asked, grinning slightly.

"About a minute."

"That long, huh?" I laughed.

He was such a cheese ball.


	10. Overcoming the Secrets

JACOB'S POV

Paul stormed off to my house to see my sister, so it was only right I stayed with Sophie. Plus, I may be able to kiss her again if I was lucky. I placed her down on the sofa gently, and she rolled her eyes as I placed a pillow under her injured foot.

"Are you trying to get lucky or something?" She teased.

I grinned. "Can't a guy be nice to a girl without an ulterior motive?" I asked.

"Not really, no." She told me.

"So what do you wanna do now you're crippled?" I asked her. She just smacked my arm.

"1. I am not crippled. 2. I really wanna know what you're up to. and 3. I wanna smack you for being such a jerk."

"Too bad you're crippled then isn't it?" I mocked. She just threw a pillow in my face.

"Seriously though, you have to be the worst wolf in history." I teased.

"And you have to be the biggest asshole on the planet." She retorted.

I faked offence. "Not the universe?" She threw another pillow at me, which I dodged.

"Go get my 'Cards against Humanity'." She ordered. So I saluted.

"Yes m'am."

We were sitting on the sofa playing this ridiculous game. The card put down was: '_That's right, I killed _. How you ask? _.' _

I tried to find some good cards. She placed down '_RoboCop' _and '_Bio-engineered assault turtles with acid breath.' _I nodded in approval at her choices. This game made no sense to me, but it cheered her up so I didn't care. I placed down '_Vigilante Justice' _and '_Opposable Thumbs'. _She grinned as if that actually made sense to her.

"Well played. I just have one question."

I waited patiently for the question.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" She smiled.

I shrugged. "I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time." I stated with a laugh.

"I don't doubt that." I heard her mutter under her breath.

What does that mean?

SOPHIE'S POV

I really wanted to ask Jacob why he had agreed to go to the dance with Brittany. I mean, it's not like she was even that great. _Besides the fact she's super hot and super easy. _My brain reminded me. But I didn't ask him. I tried. But I couldn't care the thought that he would think I was jealous. Because I'm not. I swear. I'm not.

"Jake?"

"Mmm?"

"I was wondering…" He met my eyes. "…If you could get me some water?" He nodded with a grin. He then got up and bowed like a spaz. It was so funny.

"Of course, your highness."

"If I was a princess…" I began as he went to get me a drink. "I wouldn't need to ask. You would just get it."

"Well thank god you aren't so bossy." He sighed jokingly, sitting down in front of me again.

He groaned as he received a message. "Not like Brittany."

"How did she get your number?" I didn't even have his number.

"Quil. The jerk thought it would be funny. Now it's just a pain." He switched his phone off.

"So…" I began. "Are you looking forward to your date?" I teased, a little bit of hope in my eyes.

He shrugged. "I would rather go by myself than with Brittany, if I'm honest."

"So why did you? Agree to go with her, I mean." I asked. I had been wondering this all week. Why had he agreed to go with her if he didn't like her?

He looked at his lap, and then looked into my eyes. "Because she said she would leave you alone. I thought that was what you wanted. So I agreed."

She'd leave me alone? Yeah right. In my dreams would she not want to torment me or Ashley.

"Well she clearly isn't sticking to it. Ash and I got harassed coming out of the dress shop."

A smile creeped across his face. "Dress shop? You bought a dress?"

"I was tricking Ash into thinking I would go with her. Embry's going with her." I explained.

"But, I thought Embry was doing the patrol shift that night. He took it from Quil."

"And I took it from Embry." Jake looked disappointed. He clearly didn't know me that well if he honestly thought I was going to wear a dress.

"I wasn't gonna go anyway. I figured, why not make my best friend's night special?"

He smiled at me sweetly. "You're a good friend to Ashley."

"She's an amazing friend to me. And she loves Embry."

Jake stared at me. "She loves him?" I was confused.

"I thought Embry would know. She tells me how much she loves him all the time."

"No." He told me. "She's never told Embry." That surprised me. She was so completely besotted with him, I was amazed she hadn't blurted it out already. She is one controlled girl.

"Well maybe she will at the dance."

"I hope so." He told me, a hidden meaning behind that.

"What is it? What are you not telling me?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"Jake." He looked me dead in the eye. "Tell me."

JACOB'S POV

I didn't want to tell her. Not when she was injured. She'd want to help. And I couldn't put her in harms way. But she was looking at me with those big, chocolate brown eyes.

"The vampires that have been coming. They're part of the Volturi."

"The Volturi?" She asked. "What is that? A car?"

I shook my head. "They're the vamp leaders. They came for Seth's imprint."

"Renesmee." She remembered. At least she knew part of the story.

"So what's the issue? We killed them. Surely that means no evil vamp visits." She hoped.

"No. It means the leaders will come instead."

"The leaders. And why are they so big and bad? Just snap their heads off and burn them on a bonfire. Job done. We could even have a barbecue on that bonfire in celebration." She joked.

She wasn't getting it. If these leeches ended up back in La Push, there would be a battle. Seth may have to leave with Renesmee. More wolves would have the gene activated. People could die.

"Yeah. I guess so." I said, letting her believe it. I wanted to keep this from her. The less she knew the better. But how long would that last?


	11. Overcoming the Date

SOPHIE'S POV

It was Monday again, and school was here again. Yay? Anyway, Ashley wanted to pick me up from the house. She still didn't know about the broken leg. This should be good. I messed up my short hair and quickly skipped out of the door. I could walk on it, but I was limping. It wasn't fun. She parked outside and I hopped in.

"How was your date?" I asked. She bit her lip.

"Embry told me about the battle."

"Battle?" I asked, stunned. "What battle?" She seemed confused I didn't know.

"The battle? Against the vampire royalty. He said that you all were fighting with the Cullen's for Seths imprint." I just stared at her. Jake didn't tell me. That asshole!

"Oh yeah." I nodded. "That one."

We drove to the school, and she spoke about her and Embry all the way there. I felt like I should tell her about Jake kissing me. But I was too angry to do that. How could they keep the battle from me? I thought I was part of the pack. I thought they trusted me. Clearly they didn't.

We arrived at school, and I saw Jake waiting at the top of the steps. I stormed over and smacked him right across the face. I was looking forward to him getting out of this. What excuse would he come up with? I wanted to find out. And if it would stupid, I would slap him again.

JACOB'S POV

I stared at her in shock.

"You lied to me, you asshole! How dare you!?" She screamed at me. How did we get from spending the day together yesterday, and me kissing her, to her screaming in my face and hitting me?

"What?" I asked, completely confused.

She growled. "The battle? The battle against the Volturi you failed to tell me about, and instead I find out from someone else's imprint?! No dice! Tell me what the hell is going on! NOW!"

I swallowed and began to calmly explain. "It's not like I didn't want to tell you. I tried. But I figured it was best to not tell you." She was about to hit me again, so I grabbed her wrists to keep her from injuring herself.

"It wasn't just me!" I tried to tell her.

She stared at me. "What?" She sounded hurt.

"Paul, Sam and I all agreed last night after I left. We're not putting you in that battle. You've barely been shifting for a day. You could get hurt."

She then just pushed past me. I could see the anger and betrayal on her face. Why couldn't she see I was trying to protect her? That was all I wanted to do: Keep her safe.

SOPHIE'S POV

Maybe I overreacted a bit by slapping him, but I was extremely pissed. They clearly didn't think I was capable of taking care of myself. I'd show them. There was no way I was sitting out of this fight. Not after I cut off all my hair and was forced to wear shorts. No way in hell.

I stormed to my locker and, once I grabbed everything, I slammed it shut in anger. I watched it dent.

"Damn. Who spat in your cereal?" Cole asked.

I sighed. "I'm fine. Just mad. My brother and friends are being over protective."

Cole shrugged. "I'd be like that if I had a sister or friend as pretty as you." He teased. I smacked his arm, smiling slightly. "And the new hair is super sexy, by the way."

"Are you always such a flirt?" I asked.

"Only when I don't look like this."

I laughed. "So… Always." He grinned in response.

"Now, milady." He began, grabbing my hand and dragging me. "I believe we have some cheering up to do."

He pulled me into the gym and I gave him a curious look. He sat me in the bleachers and I waited. The cheerleader came out, as the guys all ran off. They began dancing. It was… Nice… I guess. After 5 minutes, the girls ran off, and the guys came in. In ballet clothes. I watched as Cole and his friends frolicked around the gymnasium in pink leotards and tutus, laughing hysterically at the sight.

It lasted about ten minutes. I then stood on my feet, applauding and cheering. I couldn't wipe the smile from my face. He came over, still wearing the ballerina get-up.

"What did you think?" He asked. He knew he looked stupid, but he did it anyway. So did his friends. Maybe the Jocks here weren't so bad.

"I loved it. Thank you." I then looked over at the others. "And thank you lot. It was beautiful." I complimented. They all waved goodbye as they ran to change again.

"I can't believe you guys did that for me." I told him.

He smiled. "It was a bit of an elaborate rouse." I raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted to ask… I wanted to know if you'd be my date for the dance?" I grinned, not remembering my patrol.

"One condition." He gave me a hopeful look. "You have to actually wear pants."

He laughed. "Deal."

JACOB'S POV

I went to find Sophie. I wanted to explain. And I ended up seeing Jocks in tutus. I was scarred. Afterwards, I noticed Sophie sitting in the stands, grinning. Cole ran over, and I felt my stomach knot. I listened to his conversation with her.

"What did you think?"

"I loved it. Thank you." She looked at the other Jocks as they began to leave "And thank you lot. It was beautiful."

"I can't believe you guys did that for me." She sounded so… complimented. How could she be so loving to him? _I'm _her imprint!

He smiled adoringly at her. "It was a bit of an elaborate rouse." _Of course it was_, I thought to myself. _There's always a catch._

"I wanted to ask… I wanted to know if you'd be my date for the dance?" I watched her face light up. That hurt me. And didn't she have patrol? She was gonna ditch for this guy? _Him?! _

"One condition." I shook my head as I watched my world crash down "You have to actually wear pants."

"Deal."

I growled and turned away, storming from the scene. Just when I was finally getting somewhere. Why was he always in my way? _You're in your own way. _My brain reminded me. I grimaced. It was true. I was gonna have to fix that. I had to win her back.


	12. Overcoming the Jealousy

JACOB'S POV

So I waited outside her locker for her to leave the gym. She wandered out with Cole, and I felt myself shaking. _Stay calm, _I told myself. She saw me, looking completely unfazed.

"Hey Jake." She smiled. Cole stood close to her, causing me to glare.

"Hey."

"You remember Cole, right?" She asked sweetly, clearly no longer mad.

I nodded. Cole held out his hand to shake mine. I just stared at it for a moment, before taking it.

"Nice to meet you, Jacob. I've heard a lot about you." He admitted. She elbowed him playfully, making me shake.

Cole stared. "Is he okay?"

"Don't worry. Just give us a minute. I'll meet you at lunch." He nodded and left her there, and we were alone in the hall."

"What is your problem?" She asked, scowling. That frown didn't sit right on her face.

"Him. He's my problem." She just rolled her eyes at me, as if I were being childish and unfair.

"He's not a problem. He's my friend. He's just being nice to me."

"Don't lie to me." I ordered her, my temper rising. "I saw him ask you to the dance."

She raised an eyebrow. "So what if he did?" She stated, as if it didn't matter. "You're going with Brittany. How is that any different?" Now that was a low blow.

"Because Brittany knows I'm only doing it for you."

"Are you?" She asked, disbelieving me. "Because it doesn't seem like it."

I let out an exasperated sigh. "_You _are my imprint!"

"Then start treating me like one!" She yelled back. I watched her storm away, completely in shock.

I couldn't believe what she had just said. The fact she was so betrayed and had no faith in me. She didn't believe I had feelings for her. But I did. I missed her when I didn't see her. I want to hold her. To kiss her. To see her smile. But all she seemed to want is Cole's attention. I didn't understand.

SOPHIE'S POV

I spent the rest of the day avoiding Jake. He was starting to anger me, and I refuse to shift because of anger. I went to lunch and sat next to Cole, who wrapped an arm around me to hug me, and then removed it. I couldn't bare to look at Jacob. I knew he would me burning the back of my head with his hard stare.

"What was with your friend earlier?" Cole asked, concerned.

I shrugged. "He just got a bit protective. They all are."

Cole nodded. "I'm not gonna do anything to hurt you, Soph. I promise."

"I didn't think you were." I told him with a smile.

So his friends got back to their conversation.

JACOB'S POV

I hated watching her with him. It made me mad. Really mad. Embry just rolled his eyes at me.

"Get a grip Jake. She's just making friends."

"Friends who are taking her to the dance." I grimaced. Embry's face dropped and he sunk into his chair. He bit his lip, stopping himself from saying what he wanted to.

"Spit it out Embry." I growled.

"She has a right to go to the dance with her friend, Jacob. That doesn't mean she likes him romantically. You're just taking this out of context."

Maybe I was. Maybe I should give her the benefit of the doubt. But the way he looked at her stopped that. And he was not going to win her.

SOPHIE'S POV

I headed to the house in Paul's car, silent the all the way there. Paul seemed worried by this. That there was something wrong with me. And there was. He had hidden this big secret from me. And hadn't even considered the fact that I would want to help. Or he had and didn't think I could handle it.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No, Paul. I'm not."

"What is it?"

"You hid the battle from me. Why?" He sighed.

"I didn't want my little sister in that kind of danger. You've barely been here a week and there's already danger. I wanted to protect you." And I knew that he was telling the truth. But it still bugged me that he didn't want me there.

"I get that. But you could train me." He gave me a doubtful look.

"I'll listen this time, I promise!" He looked at me for a moment, and then gave in.

"Fine. But you _have _to listen to me this time." I nodded frantically.

I was so excited.

I woke up the next morning and went outside to find Jacob leaning against his motorbike. I raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing here? I thought Paul was taking me to school." I asked.

He smiled. "I thought I could surprise you." I gave him a look I didn't even know.

"Climb on." He ordered. I groaned and sat behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Hold on tight." He grinned. I rolled my eyes and he sped off.

We got to school and I immediately jumped off the bike. Cole began walking over, grinning from ear to ear when he saw me. Jacob protectively wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"Hey Soph." He smiled. I returned the smile.

"I was hoping to talk to you." He tried to be subtle.

"Jake, give us a minute?" I asked sweetly. He sighed, but nodded and watched us from the top of te steps.

"I was gonna ask what time to pick you up."

"How about 7?" I asked. He nodded and kissed my cheek.

"See you later?" He questioned. I then realised that he wasn't interested in just a friendship. But I nodded and quickly walked away.

Jacob gave me a look. "Are you okay?" I just nodded.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

How could I not have seen he liked me as more than a friend? No wonder Jake was pissed. I was so blind that I lead him on. But he was doing the same to Brittany. And yet I was the bad guy? That annoyed me. I wanted to go to the dance with Cole. So I was going to. No matter what Jake said.


	13. Overcoming the Confliction

SOPHIE'S POV

I now had completely conflicting feelings.

I liked Cole. He was sweet and funny. And he treated me like… well like any girl would want to be treated. In theory, he was perfect for me. He was a gentleman. And he made me happy.

But he wasn't Jake.

Jake was unpredictable and made my emotions go crazy. He frustrated me in a way I thought impossible. He angered me. But he also made me laugh. My stomach was all twisted and I had a fuzzy feeling in my toes and fingers.

But he didn't treat me like the other imprints.

To be fair, I had rejected it since the day I got here. I refused to allow my fate to be controlled by some force I couldn't control. I had already been changed into some freaky-wolf-shifter-thing. I wasn't about to allow this damn gene to tell me who to be with.

But the guys were right. It wasn't forcing me. It was pinpointing. If Jake and I didn't have this gene, who's to say I wouldn't end up with him. But who's to say I wouldn't end up with Cole.

Why was my life so complicated?

A month ago I was a normal teen, and now I am part of the supernatural world where a lot of crazy shit happens that I can't control.

The bell rung for the end of Math and I quickly escaped from the room at the speed of light.

I spent the day avoiding both guys. I felt bad. I had led on Cole without meaning to, and hurt Jake by doing so. I didn't want to be around anyone right now. I seemed to hiding an awful lot lately. Maybe that was because I kept pissing people off.

My phone then buzzed.

'_Where are you? xx :)' _which was from Ashley.

I rolled my eyes. '_What has the most stories?' _

I patiently waited for a response, but none came. So I continued studying.

"If you stopped hiding, maybe I would get the answer."

Ashley stuck her head round the side, making me laugh.

"You're here aren't you?" She just grinned, sitting beside me.

"Why are you hiding anyway?" She asked.

I sighed. "I messed up, Ash."

She nodded. "I already know you're a dumbass." My mouth fell open at her sweet and innocent voice saying that word. "How're you gonna fix it?"

"I'm not."

She shook her head in disapproval. "You really are a dumbass."

"What am I supposed to do?!" I exclaimed in anger. "Jake is going with Brittany, why can't I go with Cole? What's the difference? There's a double-standard here." I ranted.

Ashley shook her head. "The only reason there's an uproar, is that you never actually have said you've accepted the imprinting. They don't know whether you wanna be with Jake. But we all know Jake wants to be with you."

I hid my head in my hands. "This is ridiculous. Of course I do." As soon as the words escaped my mouth, I regretted it.

Ashley's face turned bright and a large smile appeared. She then stared giggling and jumping up and down.

"You do?" She exclaimed. "That's great!"

I groaned. "But not now." That killed her happy dance.

"Why not?"

"Because I've known him a week. Because he doesn't trust me. Because he treats me like a possession and not a person."

"But if all those things were resolved?" She asked hopefully.

"Then… Maybe."

She grinned again. "Good enough for me."

So we left the Library together and headed to gym, where I had to face Jacob.

I walked out in my skimpy uniform, and found that today we were doing Volleyball. I was on a team with Ashley, Jake, Embry, and Quil. Brittany and her clones were on the opposing team.

Missy began by serving. So I hit it back over the net. Brittany hit it straight into my face. So I growled, smacking it over the net as it bounced off my face and hit her in the leg. Luckily, I made it look like we got a point, so that made it all the more sweet.

I saw Cole in the stands with his Jock friends. They were holding up nine cards. Each was a letter, making out the sentence. 'GO SOPHIE!' I rolled my eyes with a smiled and Embry served. It came back over the net, and I jumped to get it. I found someone pushing me up for it. I smacked it back over the net at them all and we got another point. I landed on my feet to see Jake standing behind me. I held up my hand for an innocent high five, which he gave me with a forced smile.

We won by the end, obviously. Brittany went whining straight to Jake, so I went in the opposite direction, walking over to Cole and his friends.

"You rock Soph." James, one of the guys, grinned.

I laughed as they all cheered. "Thanks guys."

Jacob then came over, completely calm. "Can we talk?"

I just nodded and followed him over to the other side of the gym. He let out a massive sigh and looked at me, as if it hurt to lay his eyes on me. That upset me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm sorry."

"What?!"

JACOB'S POV

When Ashley told me what I would have to do to get Sophie back on Team Jacob, I didn't hesitate. I was sorry for being an ass. But part of the time it was justified, I swear. I had to admit the truth to her. I wanted her to start believing in us. Like she did at the start.

So I sucked it up and apologised.

"I'm sorry for being a jerk. I didn't mean to make this spiral out of control." I made sure I didn't say the word 'but' or 'if' or the phrase 'you started this'. Because I wanted her to like me, not slap me in the face. Even though she had control, it didn't mean she wanted slap me in the face out of choice.

"It's-It's okay." She assured me, shocked.

"Really?"

"Yeah." She insisted. "We both were being childish."

"So… You won't go with him to the dance?"

"Why the hell wouldn't I? We're friends. I said I will. Why shouldn't I go and enjoy myself?" She asked me incredulously.

"Because he has a thing for you! I thought you understood!"

She glared at me. "I understand, but I am not your possession."

"You're _my _imprint!"

She then let out an aggravated moan and left me standing there, storming off.

_You really screwed it up this time_, I thought. _Good job, Jake. Good job._

SOPHIE'S POV

How dare he? I was not just some object! I told Ashley that I wouldn't put up with that kind of talk and, even when my best friend told him (Who I knew would tell him), he still was a douche. I thought he was finally trusting me. I guessed I was wrong.

I spent the rest of the week completely ignoring them all. I did my patrols and Paul allowed to train me. And on the Saturday, he finally started to.


	14. Overcoming the Training

SOPHIE'S POV

I was having a peaceful sleep, when water was poured on my head.

"UP! UP! UP!" Paul screamed at me.

"If you want to learn to kill Vampires you have to be prepared for anything!"

I took that into consideration, and lunged at him. He fought with me, but I was motivated to get him and managed to pin him down.

"Are you done being a jackass?"

He shook his head. "We're just getting started, princess."

I was being forced into exercise. What an asshole. I was doing, what I assumed to be, backwards press ups on a log. Extremely asshole-y behaviour.

"If you don't work hard, you won't be physically prepared for what the Vamp throws at you. Those leeches can be brutal." He told me, like a drill sergeant.

So I then began doing sit ups. I felt my sweat trail down my forehead. Nice. I continued training, now punching a punchbag. Paul then began talking.

"I wish you had imprinted on that Cole kid."

I stared at him, freezing. "Why?"

"Because Jake is a jerk and he isn't good enough for you."

I waited for him to continue. "When Jake was into Bella," he was into Bella? Wow… "he was completely pining for her. He tried to be all 'I am the real man', but she didn't want to be with him. She made it clear soon enough that she didn't feel like that for him, but he kept pushing. Even when Edward and Bella got married, he still tried to ruin everything." Wow. Just… Wow.

"I don't want him to take advantage of the imprint. You deserve someone like Cole. I've seen how he is with you." I was about to ask how, but didn't bother. My brother was a weirdo. Of course he watched me protectively when I was in school, whenever he got the chance. He was like that.

"I know he can be a jerk." I admitted.

"But he can be a good guy. When he's not a jealous psycho." I punched the bag hard.

"You seem to be taking this better than any of the rest of us. Just be happy about that."

"How can I be happy when the universe keeps putting obstacles in my way!?" On the word '_way' , _I punched the bag with all my frustration. I watched as the bag flew straight into Paul, knocking him down.

"Let's take a break." He decided, probably hoping to figure where not to stand when I was channelling my frustration. We sat down on the log, and had some water.

"Can I give you some advice?" He offered.

I nodded. "Please do." He was the first person to offer some sort of solution.

"Don't throw either of them aside until you have some sort of idea. But don't lead them on either. Just… Try and see where you are around them." I bit my lip, and he immediately knew why. "I know you've been avoiding them both, but that may only make things worse."

"What did you do to get Rachel?" I asked.

He grinned. "I randomly showed up at her door at 3am with flowers, and asked her on a date."

I rolled my eyes. He just held his hands up defensively. "What? They were her favourites."

"That's all I wanted from him. A few gestures, some laughs, and trust. And I only got one, and even that didn't last."

"Well kiddo, sometimes if you want something you have to get it. You can't just sit around."

I guessed he was right about that. But he was also right about the fact that I couldn't decipher my feelings right now. I may be able to figure out who I want to be with, but not yet. Not whilst there is such a muddle of shit in my head.

"C'mon." He encouraged with a smile. "Let's get back to work."

We trained for another hour or so before he called it quits, on account of him meeting Rachel. The training was like a montage. Paul was even blasting I don't know what outside, and screaming at me harder. I wanted to punch him by the end.

When I saw Paul and Rachel, I stared at my feet. I just figured Ash was lucky. But looking at the other guys, they made these huge gestures. And Jake didn't. I didn't even want anything massive. Just a little token. Something that proved to me he wanted to be with me because he actually cared. Because right now I just felt like nothing to him. Like a possession, or a toy he didn't want to share.

I sighed to myself, and went and watched a film alone.

I was sat on the sofa, and my phone rung. I immediately hung up. My mom had been attempting to call me for the past two weeks. I wasn't ready to talk to her yet. And I couldn't talk to my dad either. Every time I wanted to he was on a business trip or at the office. I had barely seen him since he came back from his last trip.

My phone rung again.

"Aren't you gonna get that?" Paul asked from the doorway.

"Hey!" I greeted. "How's Rachel?"

He grinned. "It was great."

"Now, don't change the subject."

"It's only mom. I don't feel like listening to any ranting." Paul sighed and shook his head at my response.

"She's worried about you." Of course he's spoken to her. Figures.

"Well she has no reason to be." She never checked on me when I lived with them. And now that I was with dad and Paul, she's suddenly all worried.

"She's our mother, Soph." He tried to reason. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, well, I think she should've established that with me about seventeen years ago." I stated with snark. I went to leave by Paul grabbed my wrist, looking me dead in the eyes. I paused for a moment, trying to read him, and then pulled myself out of his grip and walked away.

I was sick of people telling me I was this and they were that to me. Jake was my imprint. Danielle was my mother. But neither acted like it. They were so determined to be that part of my life, but neither knew how to be it.

I wanted to just sit on my own for a while and just wait for the next day.


	15. Overcoming the Words

JACOB'S POV

I woke up on Sunday, and just laid there, staring at the ceiling. I had to think of some way to convince Sophie how I felt. I had to. So I did the only thing I could think of. I called Embry.

"What?" He asked, annoyed.

"I need your help. Is Ashley there?" I asked.

"Hi Jake!" Ashley greeted cheerily.

Jake smiled at her joyful greeting. "Hey Ash. I need your help."

"What with?"

"Sophie."

SOPHIE'S POV

I fell out of my bed that morning, immediately waking up. I groaned in pain. Why couldn't I just wake up like a normal person. Paul came running in with a baseball bat, Rachel behind him.

"What is it?" He looked down at me and rolled his eyes.

"For fuck sake Soph." Rachel smacked his arm at his language. I then looked up to find them both in their underwear. _Ew._

"Screw you." I muttered, pulling myself up with any energy I could find. He then left the room, pulling Rachel with him. So I got dressed and made my bed, before walking out into the front room.

Jake was stood there with purple irises.

"What're you doing here?" I asked, forcing myself to keep a straight face.

"I tried to think of a way to stop being an ass." He explained. "I figured this was a start."

I walked towards him and put on my thinking face, building the suspense. He stared at me hopefully. So I took the flowers.

"It's a start." I stated, sneaking in a smile.

Jake sighed with relief. I couldn't help but find myself smiling. He wasn't being a dick. This was huge!

"So, what's going on?"

"Soph, Paul wanted to know if you were gonna make breakfast…" Rachel walked out in her underwear, staring at her brother in horror. Jake's face went red and I immediately shielded his eyes.

"I'll just…" She sprinted back into Paul's room, and I realised Jake's hands were resting on my hips. I pulled my hands away from his eyes.

"Sorry. I should've warned you." I apologised, stepping out of his grip. I then looked at the flowers.

"I'll go put these in water." I muttered, walking to the kitchen and finding a vase hidden in a cupboard. Jake sat on a stool at the island.

"So, I was trying to think of some way to make it up to you for being a complete dick. So I asked Ashley. But she didn't give me any ideas that weren't… well, to be completely honest they were super girly." I smirked.

"So I figured the only person I could ask about it, was you."

I smiled. "So what exactly are you attempting to say?"

He climbed off the stool and walked over to me, holding both my hands.

"How can I make this right?" He asked.

I sighed. "I don't know, Jake." I pulled my hands out of his. "You made it pretty clear I am more of a possession to you than anything."

He shook his head. "You're not." He insisted. "I just get… I'm a possessive person."

"That doesn't mean I am your possession." I stated.

He sighed. "I know."

"All I want from you is to know you trust me not to run off with Cole, and treat me like you actually care." I explained. He looked at me like I was crazy. As if he was already doing that. But he saw that I was not convinced. And I wasn't. I felt like shit sometimes around him. And if he really had these feelings for me, he wouldn't make me feel like that.

"I know you think I am being too… too much. Especially since you've only been here a short time. But it's only because the imprint is making me crazy."

I stepped back. "So, you're saying that if the imprint never happened… You wouldn't feel that way for me? You don't think we would've ended up together?"

He shrugged. "Not really." My eyes widened. That was all that was giving me hope of this working out. The thought that without the imprint, I would still probably be with Jacob. The fact that he didn't believe that just cemented my opinion.

He realised what I meant. "No! No, Soph! That's not what I-"

"You don't think that we would be together without the imprint." I repeated, confirming my fears.

"Paul was right." I realised.

"Paul? What does Paul have to do with-?"

"I don't feel good around you." I stated plainly, pain in my eyes.

"You make me feel like utter crap!" I finally confronted. "And if you were my imprint, you wouldn't do that. You would treat me like Paul treats your sister. Like Sam treats Emily. Like Embry treats Ashley."

"What're you saying?" He asked.

"The imprint was a mistake. I can't be with someone who doesn't want to treat me with respect. I may not be a girly girl, but I am still a girl. I want to be treated like I'm special. Like I'm worth something." I told him.

"And Cole does that. You don't."

"Soph-"

"Just go. Please."

I watched him leave, sighing once the door closed. My heart felt like it was broken, but that wasn't true. Because if it was, I wouldn't be completely fine right now. I wanted Cole. Right now, he was the one I wanted to be with.

"Sophie?" I heard Paul's voice. I grabbed the island to steady myself. I suddenly felt dizzy and sick.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded, looking up at him. "Did you guys hear all that?"

Paul nodded in response. Rachel came out, both were clothed now, and pulled me into a hug.

"I know he's my brother." She stated. "But he can be a real dick."

I then felt my resolve break. I finally began to cry. I didn't even know why. I had made a completely rational decision. I had been honest. And I had finally faced the truth. So why did I feel so… hurt? Rachel held me close to her, and Paul held me from behind, kissing my head. I felt so broken. I wished wolves could switch off their emotions. But they just felt things more strongly. I felt like nothing could make me feel better. Nothing.


	16. Overcoming the Anger

JACOB'S POV

Why couldn't I do anything right? I was such a dick to her, and then I nearly got my chance back. And I ruined it by opening my mouth and saying the wrong thing.

I stormed back to my house and punched a wall. My fist went straight through. I looked through the hole for a moment, and then my dad wheeled himself on the other side.

"I'll call the plasterer." He stated plainly. I growled and sat on my bed, placing my face in my hands in shame.

"Son?" Billy asked. "What did you do?"

I looked up at him. "I accidentally told Sophie I didn't think we'd be together without the imprint."

My dad just face palmed. "How could I have raised such a moron?"

"Thanks dad. Like I don't feel bad enough."

He wheeled himself into my room. "But I don't. If imprinting didn't happen… I could be with anyone."

"So if you could've been with anyone, why not Sophie?" He asked me. I realised how many times I'd screwed up, and how many times she had given me chances. I also realised I couldn't really picture my life without her now.

She was beautiful. She was honest. She was kind. She was stubborn. She was a fighter. And she would never let anyone she loved get hurt. Plus, her eyes were like chocolate.

"How do I fix it?" I asked.

Billy shook his head. "I don't know. You'll just have to give her time."

SOPHIE'S POV

Rachel wanted to take me out for lunch, just us. I figured it would be nice, so I went. It turned into a trip for all imprints, and Leah. I was relieved that Ash had come with. She was glaring at me from across the room though.

I walked up to her, and she immediately turned her back on me.

"Ash?"

No response.

"Ash?"

"What?" Her eyes were harsh and judging.

"Why are you mad at me?"

She laughed. "Because even when Jacob tries, you shove it back in his face."

Rachel stood beside my side, holding my hand. "You're Embry's imprint. Not Jacob's." She stated to Ash.

"Jacob's is Embry's best friend." She grimaced. "What happens to Embry, affects me. Because I love him."

"I thought you were _my _best friend." I stated, my eyes narrowing in betrayal.

"Ha! Yeah! I was just using you to get to Embry!" My eyes widened. She then realised what she had said.

"No! I mean… At first… I was desperate to meet him. And then we became friends and I… I didn't what to ruin it."

"Well you have. I thought you would understand. I thought you cared. Well I was wrong. I'll leave you alone from now on." I spat. "And you clearly don't understand that Jake told me that without the imprint, he wouldn't want to be with me."

Ash opened her mouth, but Leah and the others stepped in front of me protectively.

"You've said enough, Ashley." Emily silenced her.

Ashley picked up her stuff and immediately left. They all looked at me. I shrugged. "I'm getting used to this." I admitted.

"Let's go get some food." Rachel smiled kindly, still holding my hand. I nodded and allowed her to lead the way.

This was turning into one of the worst days of my entire life.

But I didn't let that stop me from enjoying myself with the other girls. We hung out at Emily's and had a laugh. Leah told them about her application to the community college and Emily told us about her wedding plans. Sam and her had gotten engaged before I had arrived. Leah was hurt slightly, given her history with Sam, but she looked like she was starting to get over it.

Then the guys began to show up. Sam smiled at his fiancee. He was leading the pack of guys. Quil was carrying a young girl, whom I guessed was Claire, on his shoulders, and Seth was holding hands with a pretty little redhead, who must be Renesmee. Jared held Kim tightly. And Paul showed up. He pulled both me and Rachel into his arms. Then my face dropped. Jacob began walking over, Ashley and Embry in tow. Paul and Rachel stood protectively beside me. Leah and Emily were also keeping a close eye.

"Hey." Jake greeted, his head hung in shame.

I nodded to him in greeting. I looked over his shoulder to see Ash looking sorry for herself, and Embry looking angry with me. That pissed me off greatly.

"You got a problem, Embry?" I asked, stepping around Jake to face him.

"Yeah. I do."

"Well don't be shy."

"You hurt Ash." I scoffed at his comment.

"How the hell is it my fault she was _using _me!? How is it my fault she betrayed me, turned her back on me, and then didn't like it when the truth was told to her face!?" After everything my emotions went through today, I was starting to lose my head.

"Because you're a bitch to her! You're never there for her when she needs you! You just runaway all the time! She's your best friend!"

I stared at him. "And I'm supposed to be her's!"

Embry just smirked, seeing the pain and anger in my eyes. He was trying to winding me up. And it was working.

"You're a terrible friend to her! You don't look out for her! I have to!" He said. "Because you're so wrapped up in yourself to even give a damn about anyone! You're a little skank!"

Jake began shaking, but so did I. How could he do this? Couldn't he see he was putting Ash in danger? He knew he was. What was wrong with him?

"I've seen you around that Cole kid. At first I thought you were friends, but I guess you were trying to screw him instead."

That's when I lost it.

I burst out of my skin, lunging for Embry without a second thought, and pinned him down. I opened up my mouth to bite him, and froze. What had I done?

I had done exactly what I swore I'd never do. I got angry, and shifted. I nearly killed Embry. I was right. I'm a monster.

I immediately backed away, whining. My eyes were wide as I stared around in horror at everyone. They were afraid of me. Even Paul. Even Sam. Even Jake.

I sprinted away into the forest, large tears falling from my eyes onto my furry face. I couldn't believe what I had almost done. I had been so close to harming one of my closest friends, and maybe even killing him. I was a beast. An animal.

I was a monster.


End file.
